Refraction
by Cadavatar
Summary: He's never been wanted, much less needed. But perhaps that's why she has to remind him that without him, she'd be nothing. 'If the sun does not set, there would be no beauty in a sunrise. Without the night, we would not see the beauty of the stars.' But he has other plans rather than listen to her philosophize. His ideas are much more sinister. PitchxOC.
1. From the Top

To be honest, completely and utterly honest, Pitch wasn't certain whether he should have been bemused or infuriated.

Staring up at the single cage- he had gotten rid of the others in time, as he had no use for them any more- he could not help but feel an overwhelming urge to shake it. Violently. But he refrained from doing that, and instead merely placed the tips of his fingers together to form a steeple under his chin. He would say that this was one of the most awkward situations he had been in, but he could think of a few that were worse.

"You are aware that no one is coming for you, correct?" He ventured, watching the cage swing back and forth on its chain like a pendulum. "No one know you're missing. You could be left unnoticed for months. Years. Decades, even." Oh, no. Not decades. He couldn't stand to put up with this _childish_ spirit for decades. Maybe that would be the guardian's plan when they found out he had taken her. They would just let him keep her until she drove him mad. When did he think this would be a good idea? She didn't even seem to care that no one was coming.

"I will be fine." The girl mused, pausing in her swinging. Sitting up straight, she leaned to look down at him, her eyes following him as the rocking motion slowed. "What's your favorite color?"

Pitch's eyes narrowed and his brow knitted together. "What?"

"Your favorite color. ...I'm pegging you as an amber sort of guy. Maybe goldenrod."

"Black." He drawled, rolling his eyes.

The girl snorted and returned to her swinging. "Black doesn't count."

"Why? Because it's not a color?" His patience was running thin, as was his appreciation for her attempt at small talk. Maybe he ought to send the guardians a message to just kidnap her back. This was a bad plan.

"No, because it's every color mixed together." She chided. "Oh, royal purple. I bet that's it." Suddenly there was a whining sound, and he realized it was coming from the chain. It sounded like the squeak of a child's swing set, a repetitive sound that got on his nerves quite fast.

"Would you stop that?!" He yelled up at her, but she didn't even flinch.

"Just a minute." She assured him, and his eye twitched. If he had his sand he would have stopped her himself, abruptly. But seeing as how he had to systematically destroy all of his night-mares, he had, needless to say, not been replenishing his stock. He was just now starting to regret it.

He slouched in his chair and rubbed his temples in frustration as the first rays of morning light spilled in through his east window. A moment of silence passed before he realized the cage wasn't making noise anymore, and he looked up to see why before shouting in alarm.

The cage started rattling and she grinned down at him before she passed through the metal, one moment inside and the very next floating on air, suspended. The cage shrieked as it swung back into place again. The sun bathed the girl's body in warm light, and colors started to return to her pallid form. Her skin turned a dark orange color, her hair a mixture of red and purple. She blinked a couple of times before her eyes turned a vivid green.

"Well, it has been fun!" She chirped, and she did a quick float around, passing just next to him in her victory lap. "No hard feelings." She assured him, floating upside down in front of his face. She clapped him on the shoulder and grinned. "Goodbye for now!" And like that she was gone, zipping off without even a hint of wind. He looked down at his should where she had touched him and let out a disgusted cry- she had left a bright yellow hand print there. He brushed it off and fell back into his chair.

There was a moment of contemplation. Did he really want to try again, with the capturing and the caging? Apparently he'd have to black out the windows if he wanted to give it another go. That was a surprise he had not anticipated. He wanted to give up, he really did. But damn it, what choice did he have?

"I need her." He groaned in dismay, sinking even lower. Was this what he was reduced to? Slinking about under the noses of the 'guardians', chasing after fairies and old wives tales? Apparently so. He would capture that little sprite again, and next time he wouldn't be so forgiving. He would get his revenge, oh yes, he would.

And he would achieve it by tenfold.


	2. Going Down

"I keep telling you, I was _kidding_ the first time! I don't like being thrown through the portal in a sack, really!" Jack sputtered, wiping off his arms. "And if you're going to throw me in a sack anyway, at least make sure it's not the sack you put coal in?" Once he was sure that his sweatshirt was clean, he used it to wipe off his face. He ignored the sound of Aster coming in through his tunnel, opting to dust off his hair.

"You missed a spot." The large rabbit teased him, smirking. He pointed to his cheek and Jack wiped it off, narrowing his eyes at him. Aster said nothing, looking instead to Tooth, who was busy talking to her entourage of fairies who flitted away only to be replaced with a few more. Baby Tooth, as Jack liked to call her, had already nestled into the pouch of his shirt. Sandy had already dozed off, and a couple of elves seemed to be having a good time pushing him back and forth in a demented game of catch.

"So, uh, what's the big deal?" Jack asked, petting Baby Tooth's head. "Was kind of in the middle of a snow day, you know. Southern hemisphere needs some love too." It may have been summer up north, but that just meant more work for him in Australia and Southern Africa. He was considering a blizzard in Argentina too, but that was a little tricky.

"I got notice today, from leprechaun." All of the other guardians paused in what they were doing, and at the mention of leprechaun's name, Sandy awoke and blinked, a golden question mark and exclamation point forming above his head. Bunnymund's ears laid flat on his skull. Toothiana and all her fairies stopped talking. Jack, however, was clueless, and everyone's frightened reaction made him uneasy.

"Uh, should I be worried?" He questioned, leaning on his staff. "Because you guys look like someone just cancelled all the holidays."

North raised his hands and looked around. "There is no need for alarm. Everything is fine and good." Everyone relaxed. "Well, mostly." North shrugged, and they groaned. "Leprechaun says we are to come see him. He thinks Roy was kidnapped, by Pitch."

"Kidnapped?!" Bunnymund yelled in alarm. "We gotta go find her then! This is an emergency!" He opened a tunnel to hop into, pulling out his boomerang.

"I'll scramble the fairies!" Tooth joined in, turning to relay orders to those with her. Sandman was the only one waiting patiently, as he noticed North was not nearly as alarmed as the others

"Stop, _STOP_!" The big man yelled, making the other guardians pause yet again. "Roy is back home. She escaped on her own. All is fine, my friends. Leprechaun just wants us to check in. Maybe help watch her, keep her safe."

"Hello?" Jack waved, looking around at all of them. "Am I invisible again? Did I miss a page in the Guardian handbook? What're we talking about?"

"Don't worry about it." They all said in chorus, except Sandy, who merely shrugged. Jack frowned.

"We will go visit now, while Roy is still sleeping."

"Sleeping?" Jack asked, hoping that at least one of his questions would be answered.

"Timezones, mate. It's about four in the a.m. over in Ireland right now." Bunnymund told him, and Jack was relieved that someone was at least answering him. "Unlike the rest of us, Roy needs sleep. Tires herself out a lot."

"Doing what?" Jack asked, but the others were already busy preparing, North putting on his coat, Toothiana sending off her fairies.

"We are _not_ travelling by sleigh." Bunnymund argued with North, and they bickered for a bit while Jack watched, looking at Tooth.

"So, who is Roy?" Jack asked, feeling more than a little out of the loop. It was starting to get frustrating, his lack of answers- he was just as much of a guardian as the rest of them.

"Roy is very... Special." Tooth started, rubbing her arm. "She's a very sweet girl! She just has some problems, that aren't really her fault, not really. I mean, she takes wonderful care of her teeth and you should _see_ her bicuspids, oh goodness-" That was when Jack tuned out for the most part, as Aster and North had finally agreed to use Bunny's tunnels, but only because the reindeer could use a break.

A few holes and a long slide later, the group of Guardians stood in the middle of a large expanse of moorland. Jack shoved his hands in his pockets and looked around with awe. The sky was bright with stars, The Milky Way as bright as could be without any light pollution to dim its splendor. The moon hung low on the horizon, only a sliver of it in place that made it look like a upbeat, yet eerie smile. The grass was pale in the moonlight, and the only sound came from the blades whispering in the breeze. It was as if for a moment the world had stopped turning, and he wanted to lay in the grass forever.

"Probably should've warned him." Bunnymund muttered as he waved a hand in front of Jack's face, snapping him out of his reverie. "C'mon now. Magic's got hold of ya', mate."

Jack blinked a few times as his head swam, but eventually he came to. "Magic? What?" He looked around, and above Sandy's head a picture of the grass appeared, waving, while a spinning symbol formed over it. "Uh, because _that's_ clear." Jack raised a brow.

"Sandy is saying that the place is enchanted. To keep humans from stumbling too far in, yes? They are hypnotized. They admire grass, snap pictures, and then go home." North clapped Jack on the back as he explained, pulling him along while they all crossed the valley and ascended a hill. At the bottom there was a well. There was no bucket, nor a roof over it- just a stone circle rising up out of the ground. But from the hole Jack could see a faint, golden light and could hear the sounds of people talking.

"It moves." Tooth whispered to Jack, sounding giddy. "All around the field, at every sunset. So if someone does find it, it won't be there when they come back later." Sandy was the first to drop, in, followed by North, Bunny, then Tooth, until it was finally down to him, standing by the edge. He looked down in, but all he could see was a long tunnel, and at the bottom was a pinprick of light. He looked up at the moon, its strange smile making him uneasy.

For some reason a thought came to Jack's mind, only half-formed and not quite coherent. All he could think about at that moment was where North, Sandy, Bunny and Tooth lived. They could all see sky, even the warren- they could all see the moon at night. But not here. He wasn't certain if that meant anything, but something inside of him felt... Strange. And as he climbed over the low stone wall and sat on the edge, he took one last glance at the moon.

"Let's take a look, then." He muttered, and down he went.


End file.
